Where did Moon come from? ISRO's intriguing tweet ahead of Chandrayaan 2 launch

Ahead of the launch of the much-awaited Chandrayaan 2, India's second lunar mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) posted a tweet around one of the most baffling scientific debates in the world: the origin of the Moon.

“Where Did Moon come from?” tweeted the space agency along with an image, explaining the four existing theories behind Moon's origin. The theories are:

1. Fission Theory 
The Earth's rotational speed caused the Moon to split from the planet, while its gravitational pull anchored this fragment to become our natural satellite.

2. Giant Impact Hypothesis
A collision between the Earth and another celestial body caused a segment of the planet to break off and become the Moon.

3. Co-accretion Theory
A single cloud of gas created the Moon and the Earth while orbiting a black hole.

4. Capture Theory
The Moon was an untethered object before it was captured by the Earth's gravitational field during a fly by.

“Which of these theories is correct?” asks ISRO, adding, “Is there a fifth alternative that no one else has considered?"

“We are looking to find the answer to these questions and more through Chandrayaan 2 — the world’s first mission to the Moon’s south polar region! CHANDRAYAAN 2 will uncover these answers and more!” tweeted ISRO.

Which of these theories is correct? Is there a fifth alternative that no one else has considered? We are looking to find the answer to these questions and more through Chandrayaan 2 — the world’s first mission to the Moon’s south polar region! pic.twitter.com/PHIcA2kr0D — ISRO (@isro) July 9, 2019

Chandrayaan 2, Indian lunar mission, will go to Moon's south polar region where no country has ever gone before. It is India’s first rover-based space mission. The mission will be launched on July 15 at 2.51 am. The soft landing on Moon's surface is likely to be on September 6 or September 7.

One of the most complex missions attempted to date, Chandrayaan 2 weighs 3.8-tonne and consists of an orbiter with eight scientific experiments, a lander with three experiments, a rover with two experiments and an experiment from the US space agency NASA.